Rant and Rave, Shut up and Save It
by ScarletEmpress2017
Summary: Sort of a "What if" Scenario if my OC Zemirah had been there for Jefferson's rant. NOT Star'verse compliant, probably going to be deleted later.


Zemirah watched as Jefferson put the pieces together. She could practically _see_ the lightbulb blink to life over his head. She mentally counted back from three to one as his anger reached a breaking point.

"Son of a-"

Zemirah quietly sighed and slowly stepped forward. Better to let him get a bit off steam out before pulling him back. Truthfully, _she_ figured out most of the plan from the get-go, it wasn't as though they could lie to her _effectively_. Not with her empathic abilities. The most they could do was ask her not to say anything. The irony of no one being able to lie to her, but her being more than capable of lying to everyone was not lost on her.

"Badass Kaldur getting his bad ass kicked in Brooklyn, Maine- That was just to make the Outsiders look good!"

"Alright, that's enough."

Her calm voice was just loud cut through Jefferson's tirade and drew the attention of every one in the room. For a split second Zemirah thought she startled him out of it all together, but was wrong. She only redirected his anger, now aimed at her.

"And I'm sure you knew all about this, didn't you?"

"I can't be effectively lied to, but that's not my point Jeff. The Outsiders do good work, and I am not about to let your rage undermine them."

"Undermine _them_? This plan, this web of lies, stands to undermine the whole League! Of which _your_ fiancé is co-chair! You should know better than anyone none of this will end well!"

"Jefferson, don't start something you can't finish-"

"No, not only did you let them do this, you let them manipulate these idealistic kids! _For what?_ To break the law with impunity? And dragging _me_ into it!"

"Alright, shut up!"

Her shout startled Jefferson into silence now. Zemirah was not one to "raise-her-voice-at-an-elder", much less in front of younger ones. Kaldur's eyes widened in his surprise and his brows raised. Zemirah, for barely reaching Jefferson's shoulder stared the man down.

"You have every right to be upset over the lying. Being manipulated isn't fun, I know that. But you know as well as I do that these laws are put upon us by a puppet master willing to do _anything_ to bring us to heel. Even if it means we can't do our jobs, helping and protecting people. Even if it means our absence lets people _die!_"

They hadn't dared to say it out loud before. No one had. No one liked to think that these laws were anything more than a hindrance, if only to make it easier to deal with. But the truth was even humanitarian missions were terminated before they were even underway. No one wanted to know how many people died just because they weren't even allowed to help. That seemed to stifle Jefferson's anger… but not for long.

"And exploiting the Outsiders? You got any justifications for that?"

"Justifications! All you want is answers I don't have. And my answers don't matter! Jefferson, they don't need anyone's help! They're all heroes in their own right and you know that! You keep talking about being hurt and blindsided as if it was hard to manipulate you in the first place! Where's Jace right now?"

The question was so out of left field, Jefferson was stunned for a moment before answering.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with everything! The woman willingly activated people's meta-genes without their consent! The woman was and still is suspicious, but you're clearly not thinking with your brain, are you?"

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"_Pierce_. Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't sleep with her."

Was it a little petty to expose him in front of everyone like this? Perhaps. Did Zemirah truly care at that moment? No. Moreover, the incredulity and subsequent gasps around the room were worth it. In the following moments of silence, as Jefferson's face burned red with both embarrassment and shame, she focused on Jace's life force. Headed out of the building with Violet and the others in tow.

Not good.

"Now that we've established that she's _also_ a spider in in this 'web-of-lies' as you so eloquently put it, I'm going to see what the good doctor is up to."

With that she turned on her heel and left the room, determined to stop Violet and the others from leaving with Jace. She realized she may not have done much to help, but truly, there was no helping the situation.


End file.
